TP400-D6

TP400-D6
Rolls-Royce Defence Services
The western world’s most powerful turboprop
EPI Europrop International GmbH
The engine of the decade
The western world’s most powerful turboprop - the TP400-D6 developed by Europrop
International (EPI) for the four-engined Airbus Military A400M military transport aircraft
- enters service just ten years after the engine was selected. That is, in itself, a major
achievement, possibly the quickest development programme yet for a military engine.
Many believe that success is due to the Airbus Military decision to run the A400M as much
as possible as a civil aircraft development programme, with an aggressive timeline for a new
engine and aircraft with demanding military requirements.
The EPI contract with Airbus Military
covers the development and production
of over 700 engines for the A400M fleets
ordered by Germany, France, the United
Kingdom, Spain, Turkey, Belgium and
Luxembourg. The contract also covers any
additional engines for potential export
aircraft customers, which already includes
Malaysia.
This is the first engine built for a military
aircraft to complete a full civil engine
certification programme, but with the
complexity of military requirements and
military levels of performance. It is also the
first military engine to be fully civil certified
from the outset by EASA.
“As a result of the decisions
taken earlier, we’re
delivering a state-of-the-art
engine that is due to enter
service in 2013 - just 10
years since it was selected
by Airbus Military to power
the A400M.”
While not the first European collaborative
programme, it differs substantially from
earlier projects. When EPI was established
in 2002, it wanted to learn the lessons from
previous European joint ventures, and
to optimise the efficiency of the partner
companies by placing their expertise in the
correct areas.
have also avoided duplicating production
lines and facilities.
There is only one engine assembly line in
Munich - instead of one for each partner.
This has reduced the need for many
components to be transported from
manufacturer to manufacturer.
Simon Henley, President of EPI, said: “As a
result of the decisions taken earlier, we’re
delivering a state-of-the-art engine that is
due to enter service in 2013 - just 10 years
since it was selected by Airbus Military to
power the A400M.
“By the end of 2012 the first production
engines will have been delivered for the
French aircraft.”
Once the aircraft specification required a
turboprop producing 11,000 shp, it was
clear that it needed to be a new engine.
“There was a misapprehension that it
was a clear choice between an existing
engine and a new European engine,” said
Martin Maltby, Technical Director - EPI.
“This was not the case, as there was no
existing off-the-shelf product, so any
other manufacturer would have to have
designed a new engine”.
The intention was to try to develop the
engine/aircraft in civil timescales with
a view to removing the cost overruns
and delays that had beset many military
programmes, while harmonising the
Martin also emphasises that incorporating
different military qualification requirements
new technology into the engine from
of the partner countries.
the outset was significantly important in
meeting the challenging power, weight
Having four companies involved may add
and length requirements. Component
complexity at one level, but by applying
lessons learned from previous collaborative technology is based on the best-in-service
programmes, the impact of the complexity military and commercial practice.
has been reduced. The partner companies
TP400-D6 The western world’s most powerful turboprop
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The programme also demonstrates a
clear risk management strategy, with
the partner companies agreeing not
to use the TP400 as a technologyacquisition programme. It is,
therefore, a composite of individuallyproven technologies and materials,
with each of the four partners bringing
the best of their technology.
Simon Henley explained: “It would also
need modern technology incorporated
into the engine to achieve the required
fuel burn and weight. As a result
of decisions we took, the engine is
demonstrating itself as the right design
of powerplant for the A400M. At this
stage, we are on track to meet weight
and fuel burn specification.”
Each of the partner companies - Industria de
Turbo Propulsores (ITP), MTU Aero Engines,
Rolls-Royce and Snecma - brings its own
technology and programme expertise.
Rolls-Royce, MTU and Snecma each have a
28 per cent share in EPI, with ITP taking the
remaining 16 per cent.
EPI Europrop International GmbH
TP400-D6 overview
The TP400 is a three-shaft turboprop, produced from a
compact design
A three-shaft concept is the only way to
allow a free power turbine and the LP
turbine drives straight into a gearbox.
It is a more compact engine and allows
the individual pressure systems to be
optimised to the operating regime and
for the components to be optimised to
the speeds of the shafts.
Another major advantage of a three-
shaft turboprop is the high level of
performance retention, which means
the engine will continue to deliver
power and specific fuel consumption to
the required specification.
The TP400-D6 cycle has been optimised
for A400M mission requirements, and
its modular design was chosen for
maintainability and low life cycle costs.
Although it will enter service in the
military environment, the TP400-D6
meets civil noise and emission
regulations.
Its 17 ft diameter, eight-bladed RatierFigeac FH386 propeller is provided
under an Airbus Military contract, and
is driven by an Avio power gearbox,
supplied under subcontract from EPI.
TP400-D6 workshare
MTU
ITP
22 %
21 %
Rolls-Royce
25 %
Snecma
32 %
Programme milestones
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
Europrop International
established.
EPI selected by Airbus
Military to power the
A400M.
Preliminary design
review.
Critical design review.
First engine test with
propeller.
First engine to test
in Sevilla.
First series of
altitude tests.
Delivery of flying
test bed engine.
EPI opens its Madrid
liaison office.
First Intermediate
Pressure
Compressor test.
First Control
Monitoring System
test.
First ground test.
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2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Delivery of first
engines to
Airbus Military.
Ground test hours
past 2,500.
4,000 flight test hours
achieved.
TP400-D6
certified by EASA.
First production engines
delivered.
FTB second flight achieves
maximum power.
Certification testing
complete.
First flight test.
First flight of A400M.
EPI Europrop International GmbH
The partner companies and their contributions to TP400-D6
Industria de Turbo Propulsores (ITP)
Spain’s centre for aero engine excellence was
established in 1989 and is now responsible for
the engineering, research and development,
manufacturing, assembly and test of gas turbines
for aeronautical and industrial applications.
For the TP400-D6, ITP’s responsibilities start
at the front of the engine, with the front
bearing structure, or front frame. This has
been designed and manufactured with
Tusas Engine Industries Inc (TEI) of Turkey.
TEI participates in the engine programme as
an ITP risk and revenue sharing partner.
The front frame is a highly loaded structure
and incorporates a multi-profile airfoil
design to reduce the risk of any inlet
distortion from the chin intake.
For the turbine exit casing and nozzle, ITP is
again working with TEI. Juan Carlos Corral
Martin, ITP’s programme Director for the
TP400-D6, says: “The turbine exit casing
is a typical ITP product, in that we started
with Rolls-Royce and we are now involved
in major modification, changing some
components. We are on course on weight
but our target is to reduce it by as much
as possible.” Bearing Hub will be made of
titanium rather than an Inco alloy, to reduce
weight and cost.
ITP is also responsible for the low pressure
turbine, a component in which it has been
developing a key competency, particularly
for the Rolls-Royce Trent, in which it is a risk
and revenue sharing partner.
Juan Carlos says: “This is the first time
ITP has designed and developed an low
pressure turbine using its own internal
standards and methods. For the Trent family,
we used Rolls-Royce specifications. This is
most important for ITP, it’s a breakthrough
for ITP”.
“The TP400-D6 is very, very important to ITP,
as we have more involvement than on the
EJ200, for which ITP was created. It is now
the biggest engine programme in ITP.”
The three-stage low pressure turbine, which
drives the power shaft, has been designed
using advanced 3D airfoils, with reduced
tip clearances to improve air flow, advanced
cooling and blades that are welded in pairs
to introduce more stiffness.
ITP is using two test beds, one at Ajalvir,
near Madrid, for sea-level static testing and
another on an open air test bed designed
and installed at a Spanish Air Force base,
near Seville, for the complete engine with
propeller. After the A400M’s entry into
service, this test bed will support all engine
requirements.
ITP is also responsible for the engine’s
dressings. Compared to a turbofan, there is
less room to mount dressings and electrical
and piping harnesses because there is no
fan duct, so a turboprop nacelle is relatively
crowded. ITP also provides support for
aircraft final assembly in Seville, although
Snecma is reponsible for the the interface
between the engine and the nacelle, the
latter being an Airbus Military responsibility.
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EPI Europrop International GmbH
The partner companies and their contributions to TP400-D6
Snecma (Safran group)
Snecma, part of the Safran group, is one of
the world’s leading manufacturers of aircraft
and space engines, producing a wide range of
propulsion systems commercial and military
aircraft, launch vehicles and satellites.
The interface between the engine and
nacelle is more complicated than with a
turbofan engine, so a computer-based
digital mock-up was created to simulate
the installation and accessibility of all
dressings and the fuel and oil systems.
The dressings include brackets, pipes
and electrical harnesses but because
all the systems go around the engine
itself, Snecma had to do a lot of work to
optimise the brackets.
The single-stage high pressure turbine
also comes from the M88 programme
Another Snecma responsibility is the
lubrication system. This was also a good
example of co-operation between
partner companies: Belgium’s Techspace
Aero, part of the Safran group, provided
the hardware under a risk and revenue
sharing agreement with Snecma,
Rolls-Royce carried out the development
and validation, and ITP provided the
piping that links the equipment.
Lydia Guerville, Snecma’s TP400-D6
Programme Manager, says: “Some of
them are like sculptures and were very
complicated to produce. Labinal, also
part of Safran, is a subcontractor for the
electrical harnesses.”
Microturbo, another Safran company,
provides the engine starter. However,
as Lydia explains, although there are
a number of Safran group companies
involved in the TP400-D6 “EPI only has to
deal with Snecma.”
Snecma is also responsible for the
combustor and high pressure turbine.
Snecma also shares responsibility with
MTU for part of the engine control and
monitoring system, and carried out some
development and production work on
the engine control system (FADEC) which
shares some heritage with the CFM
programme.
The single annular combustor
incorporates technology and materials
from the M88 engine, which powers the
Rafale fighter aircraft.
“But because of the TP400-D6 operation,
the engine is running cooler than
for a combat engine, therefore the
components benefit from longer life,”
said Lydia.
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www.europrop-int.com
EPI Europrop International GmbH
The partner companies and their contributions to TP400-D6
MTU Aero Engines
The MTU Aero Engines group engages in the
development, manufacturing, sales and support
of commercial and military aircraft engines.
The company has established a leading position
at the forefront of engine technology.
MTU is responsible for the TP400-D6’s
intermediate-pressure compressor,
intermediate-pressure turbine and
intermediate-pressure shaft, the engine
protection and monitoring unit (EPMU)
and the engine control software.
MTU Aero Engines in Munich will be
responsible for final assembly of all
TP400-D6s built in Europe, and
acceptance testing will be performed at
MTU Maintenance Berlin-Brandenburg.
“The intermediate pressure compressor
has a sophisticated casing treatment
which eliminate the need for variable
stators. These also provide an excellent
surge margin and great efficiency,“ said
Gerhard Bähr, the TP400 Programme
Director at MTU. “Removing the need for
variable stators also make the engine
simpler, significantly lighter and easier to
maintain.”
The main difference between the
TP400-D6 and other European
collaborative programmes, when all the
partner companies assembled engines,
is that all the TP400-D6 engines will be
assembled by MTU, which has experience
of large turboprop engines through its
previous involvement with the Tyne
programme, said Martin Schäffner, MTU’s
Director - Engine Maintenance, Assembly
and Test.
Before the TP400-D6, the Rolls-Royce Tyne
engine for the Transall military transport
aircraft was the the most powerful
propeller engine of the Western world.
MTU and its predecessor M.A.N Turbo,
built and assembled 315 Tyne Mk21 and
470 Tyne Mk22 under license from
Rolls-Royce from 1966 to 1972.
Having responsibility for all TP400-D6
assembly, logistics will be the a key factor
in final engine assembly, making sure all
the modules arrive in good time from
the other partner companies. Module
delivery is the critical path.
“Initially, the plan is to assemble 10
engines a month, increasing to 140
engines a year after the first year,” said
Martin Schäffner.
Acceptance testing will be carried out
on a test bed that was built initially for
development, but will now be used for
production engines, where a wide range
of parameters will be covered including
power output, vibration, turbine entry
temperature, oil temperature and
acceleration.
As the TP400’s 17 ft diameter propeller
is not installed in the engine until final
aircraft assembly at Seville, a water brake
is used on the test bed to simulate the
drag of the propeller - a common system
for turboshaft engine testing, where the
water absorbs the energy.
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EPI Europrop International GmbH
The partner companies and their contributions to TP400-D6
Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce, the world-leading provider of
power systems and services for use on land,
at sea and in the air, operates in four global
markets - civil aerospace, defence aerospace,
marine and energy.
Rolls-Royce provides a range of capabilities
to the TP400-D6 partnership through its
modular and non-modular responsibilities.
also designed the air system which ensures
both ventilation and sealing between the
gas turbine modules.
The company designs and manufactures the
High-Pressure Compressor, the Intermediate
Casing with Internal Gearbox, the High
Pressure – Intermediate Pressure bearing
structure, the Low Pressure Shaft modules
and provides a large portion of the sensors
and control system probes.
Rolls-Royce has also used its extensive
system integration experience to perform
performance calculations for the TP400-D6
programme and manage whole engine
integration.
The blisk design for the high-pressure
compressor module represents the first
product application of the German E3E
technology programme. Manufacturing
blades and discs as single structure - a blisk removes the complexity of fixing individual
aerofoils onto the disk and results in a
weight saving of up to 30 per cent.
The TP400-D6 has four blisk stages with 333
3D airfoils milled from solid titanium.
The engine’s Hot Strut, between the high
and intermediate pressure structures is an
integrated bearing support which includes
a sophisticated internal lubrication system.
The Low Pressure shaft is one of the longest
Rolls-Royce has produced. It demands
high-precision forging and milling to realise
concentricity over a relatively long and thin
shaft, as during its spool up to full power,
the extremely small clearances between
the low pressure and intermediate pressure
shafts allows no vibration.
Design of the oil system was carried out
in combination with the Oxford University
Technology Centre. In addition, Rolls-Royce
The company’s engineers have also
supported the flight test activity on both
the C-130 flying test bed and the A400M.
Dr. Robert Frank, Rolls-Royce Chief Engineer
TP400 said: “I have been part of the TP400
programme from its beginning and seeing a
concept maturing and ultimately becoming
a real product is a great experience in itself,
but with the TP400 this was special, as we
are working truly as an European team
where different company experiences
and cultures meet and contribute to this
powerful turboprop engine.”
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EPI Europrop International GmbH
Gearbox and
Control system
The high performance gearbox is
the most powerful in the West and
is supplied by Avio under a direct
contract with EPI. Two of the four
engines counter-rotate and the
gearbox handles the extra machinery
required.
Oil heat management is shared
between the PGB and the main
engine, and the sophisticated oil
cooling system is designed to meet
the challenge imposed by these twin
demands.
Engines for the production standard
A400M will feature an enhanced idler
gear which has been extensively tested
by Avio.
The Control system is an exceptionally
complex piece of software as it controls
both the engine and the propeller.
In terms of lines of code, it is more
complex than the Rolls-Royce Trent 900
turbofan. The system controls a threeshaft engine, which as a turboprop
has five different speeds for the low
pressure shaft, which it has to select,
unlike in a turbofan when the LP shaft
will run at its optimum speed.
The software also controls the angle
of the propeller blades. Early control
system issues have been successfully
tackled and EPI is meeting all control
system targets.
Martin Maltby, EPI Technical Director
says: “Despite minor flight test
snags we are very pleased with the
performance of such a sophisticated
software system.”
Since the start of the flight test
programme in 2008, all software
milestones has been delivered on
time and further software releases will
accompany aircraft certification and
entry into service.
Flight test programme
The first flight of the C-130 testbed took place at Marshall Aerospace on 17 December 2008
and, just under one year later, the successful first flight of the Airbus A400M took place from
Airbus Military headquarters in Sevilla, Spain.
The flight tests have demonstrated
that the engine is meeting fuel burn
requirements in flight as well as on the
test bed.
The TP400-D6 was also subjected
to intensive icing conditions over
the Pyrenees, which were specific to
testing the engine’s capacity to cope
with icing conditions, having passed
such a test on the test bed. Additional
ice ingestion tests have demonstrated
good stability in those conditions.
Similarly, HPC and propeller gearbox
issues were overcome during
the very aggressive flight test
programme, which will carry on
after first aircraft delivery in order to
finalise aircraft development.
The engine has successfully
completed testing in cold weather
conditions and flight test hours
continue to be accumulated on a
fleet of six A400M aircraft.
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First large turboprop
certified by EASA
The European Aviation Safety Agency
(EASA) awarded type certification to
the TP400-D6 engine in May 2011,
making it the first large turboprop
engine to have been certified by
EASA and the first military engine to
have been certified by EASA to civil
standards from the outset.
Certification completes airworthiness
approvals by EASA and is the result of
an intensive series of safety, endurance
and performance tests. Since the first
engine run in late 2005 the TP400 has
completed all major development
testing, as well as achieving over
20,000 running hours, with around 10,000
engine flying hours accumulating during
the A400M flight test programme.
During development testing the engine
demonstrated exceptional performance
operating at sea-level and altitude
conditions. It also proved its ability to
cope with bird strike, ice and water
ingestion. Testing was undertaken at a
variety of open air, indoor and altitude
facilities at six locations across Europe
– Ludwigsfelde in Germany, Istres and
Saclay in France, Ajalvir and Moron in
Spain and Liers in Belgium.
Simon Henley, EPI President says “The rules
for bird strikes are very, very aggressive
with turboprops, as the whole bird goes
through the engine, unlike in a turbofan,
where it tends to be deflected down the
bypass duct.”
In fact, the TP400 was able to recover to
100 per cent within five seconds, without
sustaining any damage; clear testament to
the design of the high and intermediate
pressure compressors.
Maintainability
Although the TP400-D6 was designed
with maintainability in mind, more
work has gone into meeting customer
requirements and EPI continues
to work with Airbus Military to
incorporate further improvements.
A digital mock-up was created, to
ensure access is maximised and to
avoid clashes between pipes and
harnesses because compared with a
turbofan, there is less room to mount
dressings and harnesses as there is
no fan duct. So a turboprop nacelle is
relatively crowded. Inspection has to
be easy for the customers, particularly
if they are operating far away from the
main operating base.
The engine control unit, which is
mounted on the engine, and EPMU
(safety systems) are separated. The
EPMU is placed in the pylon so that if
the engine control unit is damaged, the
safety systems are unaffected. Further
software releases will be built-in for
testing different levels of redundancy for
the control system.
have built up supporting thousands of civil
and military engines around the world.
The engine has passed all its
maintainability assessments and is
proving very reliable in flight test. EPI is
working towards bringing the expertise
of all the partners in both military and
civil programmes to bear to offer the best
in-service support solution for operators.
Support solutions can be tailored to the
customer. EPI President Simon Henley
explains: “EPI is developing a progressive
approach to offer different support
solutions for the TP400 engine, ranging
from time and material up to power- bythe-hour solutions. We’ll be flexible to meet
customer requirements.”
EPI can call on the experience and
expertise that the partner companies
Europrop International GmbH
EPI Europrop International GmbH
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Tel +34 91 285 80 00
© EPI Europrop International GmbH 2012 Ref: VCOMB 1573
Aircraft images Copyright © Airbus Military 2012